by watson 347 Replies latest jw friends
Libertarian philosophy
The moral philosophers of market liberalism perpetrate a serious distortion by neglecting the distinction between the rights of property and the rights of people. Indeed, they equate the freedom and rights of individuals with market freedom and property rights. The freedom of the market is the freedom of those with money. When rights are a function of property rather than personhood, only those with property have rights.
sammieswife
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It's ok son, I just feel like getting out the Bactine and hot cocoa every time I see it.
I'm sorry you have to go through that bro! I'm on Lexapro for my depression. What a wonderful drug, but it costs around $150-200 a month. Because we have health insurance it only costs $40 a month. Without insurance I couldn't afford it, and I would not enjoy the quality of life I have.
God in heaven! Is there anyone on this planet who is not on anti-depressants? Other than me? What's wrong with vino? (Kidding.)
Seriously, what is it with anti-depressants? They do not teach you to cope, they do not create resilience, they do not give you personal insight. I do believe one builds a tolerance to them, such that, you reach a place of needing them for a minimal level of functioning, but your original behavioral problems creep back untreated, only now you have an expensive habit that just keeps you where you would have been before - no insight into yourself or the real reason for your depression.
I highly recommend a great book, Listening to Prozac by Peter D. Kramer for anyone currently addicted to anti-depressants. It is very compassionate, and very eloquent.
Mr Bee has been an independent contractor for many years in the sports industry. After a lifetime of paying for individual healthcare policies and a lifetime of sports-related injuries, he is thrilled with his first year - one major surgery (knee replacement) - of Medicare. He buys supplemental insurance, but finds Medicare is great as a primary policy.
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Seriously, what is it with anti-depressants? They do not teach you to cope, they do not create resilience, they do not give you personal insight. I do believe one builds a tolerance to them, such that, you reach a place of needing them for a minimal level of functioning, but your original behavioral problems creep back untreated, only now you have an expensive habit that just keeps you where you would have been before - no insight into yourself or the real reason for your depression.
Which completely disagrees with my personal, first hand experience with them. Bizzy, you're out of your league on this one. What's worse, you're discouraging those who may benefit from them from getting expert help. That's not good doll.
Doh - could you expand on that?
I have taken antidepressants - my GP prescribed them several years with no diagnostic assessment whatsoever. I didn't like them (PAXIL) and after 3-4 months, I got off them. I have several friends who've been on them, too.
I think they are way over-prescribed. What is it about life that so many people need anti-depressants in order to cope with it?
I believe that anyone who can benefit from them on a short-term basis - 1 to 2 years - is fine. But beyond that they can be a barrier to real change - behavioral modification. I found them to flatten out my emotions - no drive, no pain, but no joy, either. As an independent consultant, working from my home office, I could have gone broke - I had no motivation and I just flat out didn't care when I was on antidepressants. I wasn't depressed, but I wasn't alive, either.
First of all, if they were prescribed by your gp, that's your first mistake. Secondly, a misdiagnosis and treatment has no bearing on their efficacy for those with genuine need. Thirdly, only so many problems can be "handled" before someone becomes suicidal. After years, our hormones can actually be altered and turn what was once a situational problem into a chemical one. Proper medication allows you to establish a baseline and level yourself out.
Have you ever been so depressed that you could not force yourself to get out of bed and function? Have you ever thought that you were a burden and would be doing people a favor by ridding yourself from the world? Have you ever felt so dark that there was no way out? Have you ever held the means of killing yourself in your hands and sat on the brink, too indifferent to even cry about it?
Well, that's where I was when my best friend pretty much drug me into professionals and didn't take no for an answer. I had all of those things you're talking about running through my head, and I felt hopeless. I didn't want the medication. But I had come to the point where I knew what the alternative was. And it didn't work immediately. It took almost two months of medication and counselling before I started to feel a little better. After a year, I was able to start controling my emotions, and consciuosly choosing what to feel. That had never happened in my life. I still had moments of depression, but they were always in passing and never more than a few hours long. And you know what? After two years of having a baseline established, I quit the counselling and I quit the medication. And I've been well ever since. I can't say the drugs were completely responsible, but they were without doubt an integral part of my reestablishment of my sanity and well being. And furthermore, I wouldn't to presume to tell anyone what they should or should not do--that's a medical doctor's job, specifically, a psychiatrist.
First of all, if they were prescribed by your gp, that's your first mistake. Secondly, a misdiagnosis and treatment has no bearing on their efficacy for those with genuine need.
Well, that wasn't really my mistake. That is the usual delivery system for anti-depressants - GP - I'm depressed - here's some samples and a prescription. This does not diminish in any way the validity of your experience.
I'm glad you benefitted from the medication and clearly you are in that category of people who handled it correctly with the help of your doctor.
However, the vast majority of people on anti-depressants, I daresay, based on my conversations with friends and family, come closer to my experience. For one thing, most are not combining the medication with counseling. And for another, getting off the medication is not even a part of the the treatment plan.
Anti-depressants without counseling is ill-advised.
Without belaboring it - I think we're on the same page. Handled properly, anti-depressants can be beneficial.
